To The Bone
by kakkoi-ne
Summary: Sakura finds herself to be the constant victim of bullying by the notorious Karin. Taking shelter from her bullies one day, Sakura runs into another popular girl, Ino. The two form a friendship through a shared secret and a common enemy, but they soon find out that they have one more thing in common – their attraction to girls. AU [Yuri/Shoujo Ai]
1. Chapter 1: Recognition

**WARNING: This fic contains girl on girl romance and situations, so homophobic reader beware: LESBIANS. Aside from that, this story also tackles a very sensitive but prevalent subject that plagues many women, of all orientations, ages, and races. This topic will soon be revealed to you, if you choose to continue reading, that is. You have been warned. **

"Did you see where she went?"

"How did you even lose her, her fucking hair is _pink_!"

"Freakshow!"

"Whore!"

"Ugly bitch! Just wait until we find you!"

I covered my ears, sinking my face into my knees as I sat crouched on top of the toilet. I had snuck into the bathroom on the third floor. I knew they wouldn't think to search here since it wasn't my floor; it was for girls whose last names started with M-Z. Still, the fact that I could hear their piercing voices from downstairs made me paranoid. I had taken shelter in just about every spot in the main hall and on my floor, so it was just a matter of time before Karin and her cronies caught on that I was hiding somewhere new.

Once their menacing screams faded, I began to stretch out my legs, preparing to make my exit.

_Clack. Clack. Clack._

I heard the sound of heels clacking against the tile floor and I froze. Although I knew Karin never traveled alone, I was still scared. I slowly raised my leg back up to the rim of the seat, trying not to make a noise. I watched the feet with the glitter purple nail polish and the black shoes travel in front of every stall, seeming to check if they were all empty.

_Clack. Clack. _

The feet stopped in front of my neighboring stall and I heard the door squeak open and slam shut. I listened for the familiar sound of the jingling lock but then something strange happened. Instead of seeing pants drop to the ankles and feet face the door, I saw bare knees against the floor. I tried not to gasp when I heard the sound of choking.

Choking. Choking._ Splash! _

I heard liquid slapping against the toilet water and a foul stench filled the air momentarily before it was flushed away. The sound and smell were unmistakable. Someone had just made themselves throw up. I squinted at the feet as they rose to support the body when the knees were lifted and I heard the lock jingle again, this time to open. The feet walked out towards the sink and I could hear the water run and someone take a sip. The water turned off and I heard rummaging through a bag.

"Hey! I was looking all over for you!" I heard an unfamiliar voice shout out as they walked in the bathroom. A new pair of feet – this one had blue polish and tan flats. They walked towards the first feet, who took a couple of steps in the opposite direction.

"Oh, hey. Do you have some gum?" I almost fell forward when I heard the voice belonging to the first feet. I listened intently for confirmation that it was who I think it was.

"No, sorry, I have some chocolate though, if you need something to hold you down until we go out for dinner." The other feet spoke. They did not interest me. I was waiting for a reply from the first feet.

"Ugh, no way. Chocolate goes straight to my thighs!" It was definitely who I thought it was.

"Oh come on! Your thighs are _perfect!_" The other feet purred, closing in on the first pair, who took another step away.

"Cut it out! I'll meet you in your room in ten. Be patient." The first feet snapped.

"Oh fine! Don't ditch me again!" The second feet stomped before leaving. The first feet turned back to the mirror once the others were gone. My heart was pounding. Is this a good idea? Should I reveal myself? I reached for the lock on the door, but my courage faltered. I tried to pull back but lost my balance and tipped over. Attempting to keep myself from falling, I instinctively gripped the lock, but it resulted in me landing face first on the ground as the door swung wide open. Painfully, I looked up to find the feet in front of me.

"Haruno Sakura?" The owner of the feet shrieked. I glanced up but all I saw was up her skirt. Lacey violet. I blushed and looked away and struggled to lift myself up. She bent down to my level and I met her face to face.

"Y-Yamanaka Ino?" I whimpered, looking into the sharp green eye that wasn't mysteriously covered by a thick strand of blonde hair. I could smell the vomit on her breath from such a close proximity.

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**Hey everyone! What did you guys think so far? This is my first shot at a Yuri (although I have been a fan for many years) and so I'm taking more care than usual in terms of my writing because I want to make this fic top notch! **

**I also want to apologize for any Karin fans out there! Sorry, I needed a villain XD! **

**I hope you guys will enjoy this story and please don't be shy to review! **

**xoxo**


	2. Chapter 2: The Exchange

"Have you been there this whole time?" She snapped, pulling me up aggressively by my arms. She was only about an inch taller than me, standing with her hands on her hips, so there wasn't much distance between our faces.

"I-I…" I trailed off, searching for some kind of excuse.

"You're Haruno, right? Why are you even on this floor?" She tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for my reply.

"I was…just…" I gulped, looking into her eyes and then away. I started to take a couple steps back but she took the same amount forward until I was backed up into the stall. She slapped her palm against the wall, making me wince. I closed my eyes, preparing for some sort of hit or slap or hair pull. When nothing happened, I blinked an eye open and saw her just staring at me, fuming. I took a deep breath before speaking, "I was hiding. Then you came in…I wasn't-"

"Hiding?" She interrupted, "From what?" She leaned back a little, letting me breathe. She crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side, making her Rapunzel hair drip like a platinum waterfall.

"Karin…" I finally admitted. Then, I regretted it. What if they were friends? They were both two of the most popular girls in school…often at the same parties…they were even on the same floor…I mentally slapped myself.

"Oh that bitch?" Ino scoffed, "You two are in the same class, right?" I blinked repeatedly in awe that she would know such a thing about a loser like me. I nodded. "I see…" She tapped her bottom lip with her index finger, "Let me guess, she picks on you?" I looked down at my feet in shame. Suddenly, I felt soft, smooth fingers brush against cheek and cup my chin upwards. She brushed her fringe behind her ear so that I could see both of her eyes, "If you promise not to tell anyone how sick I was today, I'll get her off your back."

"W-what?!" I raised my shoulders to my ears, and I could feel my face get hot, "I-I'm not trying to blackmail you or something! It's okay…I…." I closed my eyes before the final part, "I do stuff like that, too." Pause.

"What stuff?" She pulled her hand away from me and ran it through her blonde locks, "You bully people?"

"No!" I quickly defended, shocking her. I was trying to be as discreet as possible, "Like what you did…just now…" Her jaw unhooked from her mouth and she forced a laugh.

"Uh yeah I'm sure you eat something bad and throw up, too. It happens to everyone, right? I just don't like people knowing that kind of thing. It's nasty." She stuck her tongue out. I looked away, embarrassed. Somehow, I knew she was lying, but I wasn't bold enough to call her out on it. "Speaking of that, do you have some gum?"

"Not here, but in my room I do." I watched her pout before shrugging.

"Alright lead the way!" She instructed, and I obeyed, awkwardly stepping in front of her. It was one of those moments where I had to think about how to walk.

I could feel stares burning against my back as I walked down the hall with Ino at my side. Since it was very prestigious and competitive, there weren't many students at Konoha All-Girl's Academy – it had a population of about 1000 girls, grades 9-12, split into two buildings, one for freshmen and sophomores and the other for juniors and seniors. We were in the upperclassmen building which consisted of two housing floors and one main hall. That meant that everyone knew pretty much who you were and who you were friends with. Certainly, no one expected us to be taking a stroll to the second floor. The air was tight with no speaking except for the casual greetings Ino would shoot at random girls passing by.

"Hey, Ino, I'll see you later at that party?"

"Yamanaka!"

"Are you going to Ren's birthday getty?"

"Come to my room tonight!"

"Breakfast tomorrow?"

She had so many friends, or fans, I honestly couldn't tell. I finally made it to my room and pulled out the key and slipped it in. When I opened the door, my roommate was there, sitting up on her bed, reading. She peered over her book and flushed red when she saw my company.

"Sorry to barge in!" I grinned awkwardly, "This is Ino. Ino, this is my roommate, Hinata."

"Hey, you're in my class." Ino smiled.

"H-Hi." Hinata blushed, burying her face back into the book. I was relieved to see they were already familiar with each other. That meant I could skip the explanation of just how painfully shy my roommate was. I made my way to my drawer and found an un-open pack of gum and turned to find Ino plopped on my bed.

"The Awakening? I love that book." Ino pointed to Hinata's material, making the bashful girl glance over at her and smile. I did too and took a seat next to Ino and handed her the pack. In exchange, I received a loud smooch against my cheek, making me turn crimson like Hinata. I watched Ino pop a white square into her mouth and chew. "It was on the cheek because my breath stinks." She winked, making my heart skip a beat. She was obviously joking, so I had to stop being such a lesbo freak and calm down.

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**I'm really excited about this fic, because I looooveee SakuIno and I am a total Ino fangirl xD**

**So let me know dem thoughts, R&R! :3 **


	3. Chapter 3: Calculations

After Ino left the room, I took a deep breath and let myself sink into my fluffy sheets. I normally found my dorm bed to be small and uncomfortable, but at the moment, it felt like heaven has been compressed into a mattress. I stretched my limbs to the fullest like a lazy cat, loving how my back and arms and legs cracked in relief; I was practically purring when I stopped myself and slowly looked up at Hinata who quickly snapped her eyes away from me and back to her book.

I cleared my throat and took another breath before sitting up and pulling out a little notebook, deciding that I should take on an activity that wouldn't freak out my poor roommate – of course she was too shy and sweet to make a comment about it, but still.

"Love Makes All Things Lovely" was written in pink cursive on the front of my notebook. As I contemplated that phrase, I plucked the pen that was nestled in the spirals and clicked it before flipping to a fresh page. Unconsciously, I began doodling a picture of Ino which halfway was already so sloppy and inaccurate that I quickly scratched it out.

Instead, right below that, I started to write down what I had eaten so far that day:

Breakfast – granola bar: 100 calories

Lunch – miso soup: 30 calories ume onigiri: 130 rice: 298

Dinner –

I paused there, lightly tapping the pen against my lips as I tried to figure out what I should have for that meal. _Let's see, if I want to stay under 700 calories today – and I've already used 558 – that means I only have 142 wiggle room. _I groaned to myself after making the calculations. I should have been trying to get to 650 Calories a day instead of stuffing my face like a starved wolf! It was decided then, that I would have to skip dinner today. I promised myself that I would have start having smaller lunches starting tomorrow.

"I'm going to have dinner now, Sakura-chan…" Hinata's delicate voice broke me out of my thoughts. She had given up on inviting me to go with her, but she still always announced it just in case I had a change of heart randomly. I felt bad, because it was my fault that she now ate alone in the dining hall, but the temptation of all those big portions of food everywhere and a tray reserved in my name were too much for me to handle. I had gotten into the habit of using the allowance money that my parents sent me purely for food that I was buying at the convenience store on the first floor. I also usually bought the food in about a week's advance so that I wouldn't be tempted to buy all sorts of snacks that I would be craving if I went into the store everyday.

I sighed deeply as I prepared for another evening alone on an empty stomach in my dimly lit room. I took out some textbooks to practice some math problems. It was naturally my weakest subject, but I worked hard enough to assure a straight A in it – always, no excuses. Because I mean, is there an excuse to _not _have perfect grades? Its something anyone can achieve, something that is _always _in your control. It wasn't like the gross thighs and gigantic hips I had the displeasure to meet everytime I ran into a mirror. But that was my fault, too, for being a gluttonous whale who should have gotten into sports and watched what I ate from a young age instead of cursing the universe for not blessing me with a naturally thin body.

The way I was thinking was distracting me from my problems, so I decided doing about 100 curl ups and pathetically attempting to do a single push ups would be a good way to burn off some of my worries – both literally and metaphorically, that is.

So Ino had perfect grades, too. It was one of the qualities that amazed me and made her my favorite of the popular girls since she was living proof that perfection was indeed attainable. But of course, she was beyond me, because she was also well dressed, confidently spoken, and a killer in sports.

It was the weekly volleyball game and luckily it was at home, so I could go watch. I usually didn't go to these, but ever since I had run into Ino that day, I had been strangely curious of her. I felt like she had somehow kept to her word about getting Karin off my back since the wicked witch hadn't even given me a second glance during or after class and when she passed by me in the halls, she would look stoically keep her eyes off of me. I didn't want to test it, or even question it much, so I just accepted it as it came. However, I couldn't stop thinking about how Ino had done it or more importantly: _why_.

I tried not to be conceited or hopeful that she wanted to be my friend or something – because why the hell would she ever – so I concluded that she had indeed lied about not making herself throw up. It made me sad because I didn't want her to worry about me spilling her secret and I didn't know why she had to have such a secret going on at all. I mean, she was beautiful and athletic and charming, but I suppose it was because of that little secret, after all.

I couldn't help but be both envious and motivated by her.

I watched as number 23 fiercely whacked the ball over the net so flawlessly. I didn't really know anything about volleyball, but any idiot could see that Ino was the star player. After the game, she was all out of breath and excited and I watched as multiple girls slapped her bottom. It made me wince and feel uncomfortable. Yeah, it probably meant nothing to her and all those girls – since they were straight – but what if they weren't? At least one or two or even more of those girls had to have thought about other girls before if not knowing that they are downright attracted to them. And then I thought about it again:

What if Ino is into girls?

No, no, I was a dummy. What were the odds? And with that possibility being so small itself, how minuscule were the chances that out of all the hot and cool girls she associated with, she would look past them and fall for or even check out a weird, anti-social, FAT, geek like me?

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**Yes, this story is about Eating Disorders (ED) which is why this chapter was necessary in terms of getting the reader inside the head of someone in this battle. I don't advertise the story with ED in the summary because it is such a sensitive subject with a small range of viewers in an already smaller fanbase (yuri) and I am a newbie writer without much of a following so I figured maybe some people who would instantly turn away from a story labeled ED would maybe give this a chance after reading a bit. I will definitely not make the ED the sole subject in this fic since it is indeed a ROMANCE story, but it will be there, lurking. I hope that I am not offending anyone in any way through this writing, and I feel the need to point out that every girl has different experiences, reasons, and stories when it comes to ED so not every sufferer is the same. (And of course not every lesbian experience or love or crush is the same) This is just Sakura's story. Please stick around to see what becomes of it and share your thoughts people! R&R! **

**And remember: You're fucking perfect and beautiful. **


	4. Chapter 4: Under the Sunlight

It had been exactly two weeks since Karin had even looked in my direction, which made it exactly two weeks of me being utterly absorbed and fixated by Ino; I would watch her when she wasn't looking, write journal entries she wasn't reading, think about her because she couldn't hear me doing it – basically everything that could be done to understand her – well – except talk to her, of course. It may sound ridiculous or even creepy to some of you, but I suppose none of you had ever had _that _feeling – the feeling of being painfully invisible for so long, and the experience of having a one sided, imaginary, slightly stalkerish friendship.

Besides, I didn't need her close to use her for my "inspiration". I mean, just a glimpse of those sleek, muscular thighs, and those lean, rock-hard abs paired with that flawless, flowing mermaid hair and that radiating, confident smile was enough to keep me skipping breakfast every other day and slowing down during lunch for weeks.

"Hey." My focus twisted from my rapid thoughts to the image before me – the image of a perfect, glistening goddess with a high and tight golden ponytail and spandex shorts. What the hell was she doing talking to me?

"Y-Yamanaka-san!" I curved my back forward tensely and clawed at my bare knees. She shot me a sassy smirk accompanied by a feisty flip of her fringe and then cupped her sharp hips with one of her hands.

"You don't like P.E, do you?" She sucked her teeth and shook her head disapprovingly. I felt a rush of blood sweep to my face. _Damn. She really noticed I'm a fucking fatass. _"How the hell do you stay in shape?" She scoffed in defeat and climbed up a couple bleachers to plop down next to me. I tried not to twitch when her shoulder softly grazed mine. She was heaving profoundly, trying to catch her breath after a run, and her eyes were burning holes into the water bottle next to me.

I always kept it around.

Because drinking water before a meal helps you eat less.

Or nothing at all if I'm lucky.

"D-Do you..?" I shyly lifted the bottle, attempting to keep my grip steady and not shake. I saw her face brighten up and she bit down into her lip ever so adorably before snatching the bottle and popping the top off. She was about to pour it down her throat before she paused and glanced at me.

"Can I put my mouth on it?" Her question made me almost whimper but I quickly nodded, a little too eagerly in my opinion. But she didn't seem to think I was a complete psycho and just grinned widely and gulped down some water. When she was done, she gave a satisfied sigh and leaned back and made eye contact with me.

She looked really pretty like that. Under the sunlight and all.

"You know you really do have a big forehead!" She giggled, making me blush again. I felt so humiliated. I was just some sort of joke to her, wasn't I? Unexpectedly, she leaned into me and pushed my bangs back, her voice melting into a soft tone, "But I like it."

_Impossible! _I gasped to myself. She didn't mean that. Was she making fun of me?

"I mean it." She stated firmly, as if reading my mind, bumping her head against the back of her hand, so we were barely a breath away, "You're really pretty. That's probably why Karin is jealous." Now I was even more confused.

"Jealous?" I blinked. Ino pulled away from me to throw her head back and laugh. Having her distanced from me, I felt like I could breathe again (although I must admit I was also quite disappointed).

"You didn't figure that? Why the hell else would she pick on you?" Ino cackled, slapping my shoulder.

_Because I'm an ugly, fat, antisocial nerd?_

"I think bullies are the lowest of the low. I mean, they're just insecure bitches who try to make people feel worse than they do. Seriously, I talked to her, though. So don't worry about her anymore."

"Yamanaka-san…"

"Ep! Ep!" She pressed her index finger against my lips, "Cut that last name crap. Just call me Ino. We're cool, right?" She slid her finger down past my chin and into the air, my lips bouncing rhythmically in an echo.

Our eyes were locked. My palms were getting sweaty. I felt my heart thumping way too hard.

_FWEEEEEEE-!_

Saved by the bell – P.E was over.

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**Hello! It's been too long, hasn't it? I'm terrible, I know. Please forgive me for being a slowpoke! :/ I really do want to make this story the best it could be, and I promise I won't give up, even if sometimes I take a while to continue! So please be patient with me and share your thoughts in the reviews; I really appreciate all of the support so far :)!**


	5. Chapter 5: Hit the Showers

"Hey your locker is right next to mine!" Ino grinned as we fiddled with our locks. I felt my face warm up, _I know that's why I chose this locker in the first place…to be near you…to look at that perfectly flat stomach and those muscular thi- _"I can't believe we've never talked to each other!"

"Huh?" I gulped nervously and tried to come up with a smile to turn in,  
"Y-Yeah."

I lowered my head a little and tried to hide behind my bangs. I looked away from her and started to debate internally which piece of clothing I should take off first. Was she looking at me? I tried to peek up and HOLY SHIT YES LOOK AWAY SAKURA LOOK AWAY! I quickly raced my eyes back away from her beautiful face and decided to peel off my shirt. I was most insecure about my chubby thighs, so I figured I would leave that for when she wasn't looking or had already left. As I was planning everything out, I had a shriek escape my mouth as Ino dug her fingers into my bangs, pushing them back away from my face. I hoped I didn't get red from my chest to my now exposed face.

"You shouldn't hide behind all that hair like a little unkempt puppy!" She giggled, dangerously close to me. I felt some eyes from other girls in the locker room burning into me. What were they feeling? Rage? Disgust? Envy? We were two topless girls looking intently at each other. What did they think was going on?

"Hey, beautiful!" Ino's hand was abruptly snapped away from me as she struggled to keep her balance when someone tackled her from behind, snaking their long, skinny arms around her waist. I believe the attacker was an upperclassman by a year or two; I think I had seen her around before. She was quite pretty, with classic waist length raven hair and a slim, athletic figure just like Ino's.

"Oh, Kin…" Ino muttered, not seeming as excited as Kin was about the meeting.

"Stay and skip in my P.E class!" Kin whined, her hands tickling Ino, who started fussing and pushing her off viciously.

"Cut it out! I hate being tickled!" Ino roared, jumping behind me for cover. Kin finally acknowledged my presence and sent me visual daggers that made me shudder. "And I'm not gonna! Coach just saw me kill the mile! She'd notice if I was in class all over again."

"Exactly. That dyke is sooo into you. She wouldn't care. She'd be happy if anything!" Kin cackled, starting to take off her clothes and change into her gym clothes. That could be true. The coach was a rough and tough woman in her mid-thirties or forties with boy short curly hair and a muscular physique that just gave off that vibe. I turned and looked at Ino, her eyes widened at me and then she turned back to Kin.

"I don't care, man. Besides, me and Sakura are gonna hang out in her room." Ino stated to me and Kin's surprise, tossing her hand over my bare shoulder, making me get redder and more confused.

"Who?" Kin scoffed, even though it was obvious I was Sakura. Ino seemed to blow off her comment and went back between us and stepped out of her tight shorts.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Kin." Ino sighed quietly. Which seemed to upset Kin, who wearing only half her uniform and leaving her locker open gritted her teeth at me and scowled at Ino before stomping off outside. Ino's cheeks turned pink and she just rolled her eyes to herself and slammed Kin's locker shut. "Sorry, she's a dramatic bitch." I cringed at her words: Would she soon find me that annoying – if she got to know me? "So…you gonna shower before heading up?"

"Oh…I..!" I panicked. I never ever showered in the locker room. It was too embarrassing for these athletic and toned girls to see my awkward figure completely naked. I was too ashamed. I always preferred to sneak into my floor's shower first thing in the morning before anyone was even awake. A cold five minute shower to tighten my muscles and keep my breasts perky and my thighs smooth and burn calories. Cold showers burnt calories.

"Why would you, right? You're not gross and sweaty like me!" She stuck her tongue out slightly before snapping her bra clasp off. I quickly shyed my eyes away. I had looked at them before – her breasts. When she wasn't looking, right next to me in the locker, I always watched her take her bra off and head for the shower with her purple fluffy towel thrown over her shoulder. Today was no exception, she did just that. Except this time, for the first time, she turned to me and winked, "Wait for me to finish, 'kay?" I agreed subconsciously, nodding.

I was chewing off the last of my nails as I sat on the locker room wooden bench, my head buzzing with the rhythm of the shower water that was now echoing the room. Everyone else had changed and left for their classes and Ino was the last one in the showers. I examined my watch; she had been there over thirty minutes. I sighed deeply to myself. Then I had a flashback: She had pulled my hair back. It had felt so romantic. I couldn't help but blush at the memory.

"Daydreaming again?" Ino's voice startled me. I hadn't even heard the shower turn off or her walk out! I blushed a little and nodded sheepishly. "Hehe, you do that a lot, huh?" She smiled. Her hair was tied up in a small violet towel and there was a big fluffy one around her body.

I had to look away. It felt different now from just changing in the locker-room for gym. We were alone, and she was naked under there.

"Ready to go?" Once she asked, I quickly turned around to find her changed into an orange tank top and little black shorts with her hair still in the towel. I followed her out the door and we had to pass through the gym.

Then I woke up in a white, unfamiliar room. My head ached, and when my vision normalized, I saw Hinata's worried eyes looking down at me.

"Hinata..?"

"Y-y-you're..!" I saw tears well up in her eyes as she fell into me and wrapped her arms around my neck, "T-thank god, S-sak-kura!" She sobbed, and I just lay there confused under her weight.

"Hinata-chan? What happened? Where am I?"

"Y-you…d-don't remember..?" Her lilac eyes widened at me and she shook her head, "Y-you… got hit… in the h-head… w-with a volleyball a-and… **you passed out for three days**."

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**Hello friends ~ I know I take forever to update but I wanted to at least get a chapter in for all my current stories before V-day! x3 **

**I feel like I rushed this chapter a bit and its not so neat but I just want to get Ino and Sakura closer already so the story can really start! I hope you will all stick around and please review me your thoughts and feelings. **

**I will try my best! Happy Valentines Day Everyone! **


	6. Chapter 6: Golden Time

"Three days?! That's not funny, Hinata-chan!" I gasped, pushing her back by the shoulders and shaking her a bit. She shook her head frantically, tears falling.

"I-I-I'm s-serious..!" She assured, closing her eyes and taking a breath, "Sakura-chan…y-you…this ha-happ-pened…be-bec-cause…"

"What?" I asked softly, averting my eyes. No, it couldn't be that. No, no, no.

"Y-you…you…need to…ea-"

"No!" No! No! No! _No! _"I eat fine, Hinata! I've _told _you! I'm just anemic_, that's all_!" I lied. I'm not anemic. "You worry too much! In fact," I stretched my arms up high in the air and plastered on my most brilliant smile, "I've never felt better! I slept like a baby, haha!" I tried to lighten the mood, but her eyes were still uneasy. I don't understand why she even cared about me so much. I was a pretty shitty friend to her, always making her eat alone and never telling her anything (I couldn't). I pulled her into a hug, which made her cry more, and it took everything inside me to not cry, too.

My stomach hadn't stopped roaring since I woke up. I had been basically force fed by the nurse to stuff my face with a bowl of cereal and an orange back at the infirmary (I shudder at all those disgusting calories and fat in that sugary cereal) so I couldn't understand why I had to be such a fatass by nature and still be hungry. I looked at my watch.

Dinner time.

I peeked from my notebook to Hinata who was just blankly staring at her book. Was she even reading anything? I hadn't heard the page turn in ages.

Was she going to go eat?

Wasn't she hungry?

For some reason, she was making me anxious by just sitting there like a zombie.

"Hinata-chan…" I finally croaked. She seemed startled by my voice and gave me a look that was so intense it nearly paralyzed me, so I casually slipped my view back to my notebook, "A-aren't you hungry? It's dinner, time…right?" I gulped. Please just say yes.

"Ah…" She spoke quietly, almost inaudibly, "I hadn't…n-noticed…" She paused, her breathing was harsh, "W-What a-about y-you?" Shit.

"Heh, y-you know me…" I swallowed again, "I-I'll be fine. Quit worrying about me all the time! I'll be fine." I'm fine. She didn't say anything for about ten minutes.

"I'm…not really hungry today, either."

I was getting angry. I was silently cursing her in my head. _Get the fuck out of here. _I hissed internally. _Just go eat you know you want to you fucking fatass. _I hated myself for the way I was thinking, but she was just pissing me off so much. This was my alone time, my golden time. My time to do endless push-ups and crunches and jumping jacks and cry and journal and beat myself up over how disgusting I am – so Hinata needed to get the fuck out of there

_Duk. Duk._

We were both surprised to hear the door being knocked on. Great, it was probably an annoying nurse. Why couldn't anyone just let me do as I please? It was _my _body, no?!

"I-Ino…!" I was shocked to open the door and find her. She wasn't wearing any makeup and her hair was a mess. She looked like she hadn't slept those three days I was out.

"Sakura!" She cried, pulling me in tightly into a hug. I froze, my heart doing the opposite and racing tremendously. I could feel her heart, too, jumping through her shirt and into me. Her arms were shaking around my neck. She was whimpering a little and I think she was crying and this time I couldn't hold the tears back. Why was she crying? Why did _she _care that much?

She pulled back and ever so softly laid her palms to my cheeks, her lovely, angelic hands on my chubby, teary cheeks. She whispered my name again, looking straight at me. Her eyes looked blue today. She looked so intently I thought she would kiss me.

"O-oh, Hinata!" She caught sight of Hinata and the moment was over, she removed her hands from me and stepped back, her face turning pink. "You're not at dinner?" Hinata looked down and shook her head. "Worried about Sakura, huh?" Ino sighed, peeking at me, then looked back to Hinata, "Don't worry. I'll make sure she eats something!" She pointed to her backpack. I hadn't even noticed her wearing one.

Finally, Hinata stood up hesitantly and walked to the door. Ino and I stepped out of her way and she gave me one final apprehensive look before walking away. I didn't have the energy to feel about basically kicking her out, but I was relieved and then dizzy, realizing what had just happened with Ino. I stumbled to my bed and almost collapsed.

"T-thanks." I muttered to Ino, wondering if she understood why I was grateful. I suppose she did, as her only response was to sit down next to me and pull my head onto her lap. I blushed and I was glad she couldn't see it. She started stroking my hair.

"I…really did bring food," She said after what felt like an eternity of silence, "You really don't ever eat anything."

I snapped my head up and stared at her bewildered. How the hell would she know?

"I…" Her face became bright red and she broke the eye contact, "Don't be mad," She pulled a loose hair behind her ear, showing her silver earring, "W-when you were out…I was worried…I came to your room…" _She wouldn't…_ "I'm sorry, Sakura."

My heart started beating rapidly again. I thought I would hurl.

"I…I read your diary." She finally gulped, shutting her eyes tightly. I felt a rage crawl up through my veins into every inch of my body. I stood up, shaking.

"_What_?" I begged the universe that I had misheard.

"Forgive me!" She sunk her head, her eyes still closed.

Without a second thought, I slapped her.

* * *

**"We can always find each other, we girls with secrets." **

**― Crystal Renn, ****_Hungry: A Young Model's Story of Appetite, Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves_**

**On a lighter note, tomorrow is my two year anniversary with my beloved boyfriend and best friend and savior - the one who pulled me out of what Sakura and Ino and so many are going through and the reason why I am alive and writing this today. **

**Remember that you are all beautiful and very much worthy of someone loving you. ****_Exactly _****the way you are. And if you gain or lose ten or fifteen or even a hundred pounds, you are still ****_you._**


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